packet

When people hear the word packet, most might envision the splendor of the legendary J.M. White, or the majestic Queen City. However, not all packets were large and palatial. Short-trade… Read More

Built for the Red River and Caddo Lake cotton trades above Shreveport, La., the cotton packet Gem was constructed in 1898 along the Ohio River. It was a product of… Read More

A recent acquisition to the writer’s collection is this week’s Old Boat Column image of the packet James Howard alongside a wharfboat at the St. Louis levee. In 1870, Capt. Read More

A lucky and recent acquisition is this week’s main image of a pretty packet boat that was popular in the annals of Ohio River steamboating. The Tell City was constructed… Read More

Among the beautiful big sidewheelers built on the Ohio River at Jeffersonville, Ind., was the palatial packet Katie. Built in 1871, the steamboat was not constructed by the Howard Shipyard,… Read More

For a contract cost of $17,000, the packet Electra was ordered from the Howard Shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., in 1897. The sternwheeler was constructed on a wooden hull measuring 170… Read More

Named for the daughter of a Cincinnati furniture manufacturer, the sidewheel packet Emma Duncan was built in 1860 at Pittsburgh. Constructed on a wooden hull measuring 180 feet in length… Read More

By the 1930s the last remaining riverboats to carry freight and passengers were beginning to fade from the scene. This week, the Old Boat Column presents a colorized vintage view… Read More

For many decades, the Massengale family operated the St. Louis & Tennessee River Packet Company. Capt. John Massengale, a native of Gainesboro, Ga., moved to Nashville, Tenn., obtaining a job… Read More

This week, the Old Boat Column presents two images of Upper Ohio River packet boats that are part of a photo collection generously given to this writer by the late… Read More